Luann P. Pannell, Ph.D.

Director
Police Training and Education

emailDr. Luann Pannell, began
her career with LAPD as a Police Psychologist in 2000 and in 2006
was promoted to Director of Police Training and Education by Chief
Bratton. In this role she is responsible for the review and
evaluation of all LAPD training curricula to ensure relevancy,
continuity, and compliance with State and Federal criteria and
Department policy. She researches best practices in police training
and adult learning to continually improve and advance LAPD
training. In keeping with this role, Dr. Pannell led the team
responsible for the complete redesign of the LAPD Academy in
2008.

One of Dr. Pannell's strengths is her ability to collaborate with
various groups and constituencies. Her commitment to collaboration
has enhanced a variety of community relationships with LAPD and has
resulted in new training. By designing new LAPD training, LAPD has
been able to incorporate feedback from several key communities on
topics such as Fair and Equitable Policing for the Lesbian Gay
Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Community, Mental Illness and Autism.
Dr. Pannell is the LAPD chair of the Professional Advisory
Committee (PAC) where she serves with two community co-chairs to
ensure there is diverse community input into police training.

Dr. Pannell is a distinguished instructor in several LAPD schools
including the LAPD and LAFD Leadership Programs and the Command
Development Course. She has been one of the co-authors and
presenters of the "Vicarious Trauma: Why it Hurts to Help" course
to law enforcement professionals and first responders throughout
the country. While teaching in numerous Department schools, Dr.
Pannell also consults in the selection and training of instructors
and conducts evaluation research to improve training methodology
and content. She chairs the Training Assessment Committee (TAC)
which assesses all requests for training to identify the best
delivery method for accelerated learning, retention, behavior
change, and organizational change.

During her tenure as a police psychologist she consulted with a
variety of specialized units including Juvenile Division,
Scientific Investigation Division, Jail Division, Records and
Identification Division, Recruitment and Employment Division, and
Scientific Investigation Division. She also responded to SWAT
call-outs as a member of the Crisis Negotiation Team and a member
of the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT). As a CIRT member,
she assisted LAPD employees in managing their reactions to critical
incidents. She participated in ride-a-longs, provided management
consultation, and presented training on a variety of issues
including stress management and the psychological consequences of
constant exposure to violence.

In addition to her work with LAPD, in 2009 the INTERPOL Group of
Experts on Police Training (IGEPT) was established and she became
the first to serve as the Chair. In this role they have overseen
the development of an E-Journal to increase sharing of best
practices in training on an International level. Dr. Pannell is a
contributing author in the book, "Leading in Dangerous Situations"
(2011) which was organized and edited by West Point staff from the
Behavioral Sciences and Leadership Department.

Dr. Pannell received a Masters Degree and Ph.D. in Clinical
Psychology from the School of Psychology at Fuller Seminary in
Pasadena, as well as a Masters Degree in Theology, Cross-Cultural
Studies. Her Bachelor's Degree is also in psychology from Northwest
Nazarene University, Nampa, Idaho. Prior to joining LAPD, Dr.
Pannell spent several years working within Community Mental Health
and the Veteran's Administration, consulting victims and families
exposed to traumatic instances and violence. Dr. Pannell has
written articles and presented at psychological conferences on the
relationship between exposure to community violence and
psychological distress, the collaboration between Mental Health
Professionals and Law Enforcement, and improving training outcomes
for law enforcement.